tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post678792418781310125..comments2024-02-07T05:10:20.774-05:00Comments on The Critical Boardgamer: San Juan ReviewCriticalBGamerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-32222830785247383072013-11-20T05:17:12.697-05:002013-11-20T05:17:12.697-05:00I think I might speak with a little bit of knowled...I think I might speak with a little bit of knowledge on the subject - a few years ago whilst attended Essen - Tom Lehmann happened to be staying at the same hotel I was at and I got chatting to him at the bar in the evening - and subject of San Juan & Race for the Galaxy came up.<br />From what he told me the impression I got was there where two prototype games - Andreas's 'Puerto Rico' card game and Tom's Card Game (Which may or may not have been intended to be a 'Puerto Rico' derived game) - basically neither game was really working properly. However it was decided to effectively merge the two games - and the result was San Juan.<br />I don’t really remember him explaining which concepts came from who or who actually did the work of merging the games -but his explanation sort of felt right to me at the time.<br />Richard Minsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17774731320313744181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-52518962867517646992013-11-11T09:49:23.860-05:002013-11-11T09:49:23.860-05:00I've heard a lot of stories about why they are...I've heard a lot of stories about why they are so similar. One of them involved both of them being designed in a contest of sorts to see which would be the card version of Puerto Rico. San Juan won, and the other got rethemed into Race for the Galaxy.CriticalBGamerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-84284428904643349102013-11-11T05:47:07.857-05:002013-11-11T05:47:07.857-05:00My understanding is there is a reason it seem so m...My understanding is there is a reason it seem so much like Race for the galaxy - as whilst Andreas Seyfarth has his name is on the box - Tom Lehmann had a very strong influence in the design of San Juan.<br /><br />Race for the Galaxy is really him taking the concepts he helped develop for San Juan and expanding upon them. <br /><br />Richard Minsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17774731320313744181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-18143103182347015052013-06-10T10:40:39.029-04:002013-06-10T10:40:39.029-04:00It's a tough call, whether you should get San ...It's a tough call, whether you should get San Juan if you already have RftG. For me it made sense, because RftG is a tough sell in my group. It's hard to teach, takes 2 or 3 full games for people to really get it, and new players get completely shafted. If I had a group I could reliably play it with often, I doubt I would have needed San Juan.<br /><br />Some people consider San Juan training wheels for Race for the Galaxy, but I think it's a great game in it's own right.CriticalBGamerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00769912725221695423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5881904549482727.post-31486474742114445762013-06-10T10:34:55.449-04:002013-06-10T10:34:55.449-04:00Great review! I also am an owner of both Puerto Ri...Great review! I also am an owner of both Puerto Rico and Race for the Galaxy. I've been on the fence for San Juan for quite a while…wondering if I really need the third game in this family. The only thing I like about it better is the role selection mechanic…I like the idea of "stealing" the role bonus from my opponent as opposed to using two sets of identical orders cards in Race. Race is a really great game, though. And the good player is always doing stuff during his opponents actions, that's how you win! Now I've got to read the rest of your blog.Zeke Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15204619767034040218noreply@blogger.com